The Surprise
by Amles80
Summary: Everybody knows that the war is coming soon. The approaching threat creates tensions that some people deal with by making drastic decisions and unusual requests. To Gwendal, Gisela is just a nice girl and a good healer and when she wants to go with him on a ride one day, he doesn't know what to think… Pairing and prompt from "The Totally Promiscuous Pairing Machine". :


They were living in troubled times. Everybody walked with hurried steps and talked with hushed voices, irritable, jumpy. It was quite clear to everybody that war could no longer be avoided. Soon, any day now, it would be decided…

Some of the nobles were sending their young children to Blood Pledge Castle, considering it a safe place when everything else was uncertain. The Maou welcomed everybody, Anissina helped her keeping the kids organized and Wolfram, who knew that he had to stay behind when older men went to war, took it upon himself to teach the kids to defend themselves.

The Maou bit down on her lower lip when she thought that nobody saw and twirled her hair around her fingers, worried; too worried. Stoffel was everywhere, acting as if he owned the place, 'protecting' his sister, 'helping' and 'advising' her.

To Gwendal it was like living in a boiling pot. There were decisions to make and important points of view to be considered, but nowhere could he find a quiet room to think in.

Fortunately, he could still take his horse and ride away for a moment each day. He knew of places where no one would find him.

One day in the stable, Gisela approached him. She greeted him with a smile and a small respectful bow of her head, but did not look shy when she asked him if she could join him on his ride.

"Why?"

He looked down on her with a confused frown. He did not mind her, not at all – she was a nice girl, Günter's daughter, a very competent healer; she had healed his wrist not long ago and taken out splinters from his hands when a horse that had not been properly broken in yet had thrown him off…

That was the first time in many years that something like that had happened; it had been more than a little embarrassing, but the healer had not laughed and not made one single inappropriate or unnecessary comment.

"Why?" she repeated. "Is it so surprising that someone asks for the pleasure of your company?"

Gwendal's eyes narrowed. What was she talking about? Was she making fun of him? But she didn't look like it, and frankly, she wasn't the type. That was one thing he liked about her; she didn't throw mindless chatter and silly jokes around her like some girls did, and she was far less persisting and demanding than Anissina…

In fact, Gisela had never before demanded anything from him.

"If you insist", he said, somewhat reluctantly. "But hurry up and get your horse ready; I haven't got the whole day."

"I have my horse here already", Gisela said and smiled again.

Gwendal didn't think that Gisela usually smiled that much, but now that he thought about it, he had seen her around quite a lot lately. Maybe, he wasn't quite sure, maybe she had been watching him. Did she think that he could do anything for her?

"Are you worried about the war?" he asked as they led their horses out on the courtyard. His was dark brown, hers was a roan; smaller, but he knew it as an assiduous and strong one.

"Of course", she replied after only a moment's hesitation. "Aren't we all? But I'll do my part in it, just like everybody else."

He nodded; there was nothing to add. Of course she would do her part. Efficiently and without complaining, she would heal the wounded – there were going to be many, he was sure – and if she was successful, and he didn't doubt it, she would perhaps heal the same people several times and send them out to fight again, and again.

But for now, they had a few moments of freedom to spend together. It was odd for him to let his horse gallop on without any other goal than to get away with somebody by his side, but if that was they way it had to be, then so be it.

Gwendal looked ahead of him where the temple was, and the hills behind it. The sky was darkening.

"Look at the clouds", he said. "Are you sure about this? We might not get very far."

"I'm not afraid of a little rain", she replied and he shrugged. Neither was he.

"It's good to get away from all those kids", he said, looking at her from the side.

Gisela turned her head to let her big dark green eyes meet his. She was quite young, he thought, but full of determined force. He had heard she could be very bossy with the guards if she wanted to, and it didn't really surprise him. He supposed she had had some military training, with her father as an instructor at the Academy and all…

She was pretty, too. He had never really thought of her that way before – after all, she was just a healer, the girl who was always hanging out with Suzanna Julia; both of them important people but not really important to Gwendal, personally.

"I doubt that the kids are much of an inconvenience to you, Excellency", she said at last. "They wouldn't dare to go near you."

"True", he admitted. He had just thought that maybe they were an inconvenience to her – after all, kids get hurt all the time, and maybe that was why she wanted to get away for a while? On the other hand, Gisela was nothing if not dutiful. So that couldn't be it.

Gwendal took a deep breath. The air was heavy and almost sticky; he would eat his hat if those clouds didn't let out thunder, lightning and masses of rain very soon. It wasn't the best time to go for a ride, but it was the only time he was free…

The sky got darker and it almost felt like evening when they reached the forest; it was dusky between the trunks and the air was even hotter.

"Um", he said, "is your father well?"

Gisela gave him another long look.

"He is quite well, thank you. As you should know; I believe you see him more than I do these days. He's in excellent health; he's not in trouble, and neither am I. You don't have to make conversation. I don't need small-talk."

Gwendal relaxed a bit. If she wouldn't tell him what she wanted from him, then maybe she didn't want anything at all, except, as she had put it, 'the pleasure of his company.' Well. He could live with that.

Then a heavy wind began to blow through the trees and almost bend the smaller of them to the ground. That made the air cooler, but the relief was short-lived, because the wind really was too strong to be soothing. Very soon, the clouds had waited long enough and were ready to let loose what they had been containing.

Flashes of lightning lit up the forest, and loud bangs of thunder filled the sky.

To Gwendal's astonishment, the girl by his side laughed.

"Over there", he shouted through the wind, and pointed at something ahead of him.

It was an old abandoned barn and it had sheltered Gwendal from thunderstorms before, although never one as violent as this one. He could only hope that the barn could take it.

"The roof probably has holes in it", he said. "But unless it's completely ramshackle, it's better than staying out here."

"We won't know until we've looked", Gisela replied, and just as she said it, the sky opened and heavy rain began to fall.

It only took them a few more moments to reach the barn but it was enough to make them wet. One more minute in the rain and they would have been soaking.

The old barn seemed stable enough. The horses weren't too fond of thunder and they seemed relieved to be under a roof. Gisela caressed their muzzles and talked gently to them.

"My father is better than me at this", she said. "Horses really love him."

"So I've heard", Gwendal replied.

Günter von Christ apparently had a lot of skills and talents and must be a role model for his daughter. _Funny how they don't look alike_, he thought, but instantly remembered why. Sometimes it was easy to forget that Gisela wasn't Günter's natural daughter.

_Not only blood makes a family_, he thought, and for a moment, his thoughts took a detour and landed with his brother who had to suffer for not being a pure-blooded Mazoku.

"What are you thinking?"

The girl's soft voice snapped his thoughts back to the present; the dark barn that sometimes was lit up by lightning from outside. Water poured in from a few cracks in the walls and some places on the roof, but most of it was dry and there was plenty of old hay to sit in while they waited.

"I thought you didn't need to talk", he said and sat down on the hay that rustled under him.

"I don't", Gisela replied. "Not about pointless things that are being said just for the sake of talking. I just thought you looked sad there for a moment. Talking _can_ be good sometimes."

_Talk, about Conrad, the war, unvoiced emotions, thoughts never expressed?_

He looked away and shook his head.

"Well… no."

"Okay." Gisela shrugged and sank down beside him. "That's fine. There are other ways to take one's mind off things. If you want."

"What do you mean?"

Gisela scooted closer to him and actually put her head _on his shoulder_. Gwendal tensed, unprepared for her closeness, the warmth of her body pressed against his.

"I'm glad we're here", she said. "I mean… um…"

It was a strange thing to say, in his opinion. Perhaps she realized it, too? She interrupted herself as if she had forgotten what she wanted to talk about. When she began talking again, her voice was unusually shaky and Gwendal couldn't understand the sudden change in her behaviour.

"I mean", she said, "sort of. I think so, that I am glad… I knew it was going to be a storm."

"What?" he said and tried to look at her face, but she hid it against his shoulder and he only saw the top of her head.

"Well…" Her voice was suddenly more hesitant than before. "There was something I wanted to ask you."

_Here it comes_, Gwendal thought. _I knew it had to be something._

"What is it?" he said. "Out with it."

He knew he sounded too harsh but he couldn't help it. He didn't even know if he was more nervous or curious. It wasn't strange that people asked him for favours or advice, but never in this way. What could it be that Gisela wanted that required a storm before she could say it?

"Anissina had foreseen the storm", Gisela continued, and Gwendal tensed up even more. Something fishy was going on. "You see, I asked her for advice. I didn't tell her everything or why I asked but I wanted to know the best way to approach you about something… delicate… and she said I should see you in private and out of the castle if possible."

"Out of the castle", Gwendal repeated and listened to the heavy rain that hit the roof, "where I can't run away, huh? I know the way she thinks… But Gisela – I can't imagine what it is that you want to say that you can't say to me anywhere?"

She released her tight grip of his arm and raised her head to look at him again. When she talked, her voice sounded more confident when it wasn't muffled by his body.

"I don't really know you that well", she said, "and you're not exactly known for being very talkative…"

"You and me both", he commented, getting increasingly puzzled. "But I should hope that I'm not _that_ terrifying…"

"Oh no", she said. "I didn't mean it like that. I just meant…" She sighed. "To be honest, I had _not_ planned it like this. Not at all. But I guess it's too late to start over…"

Gwendal waited for her to keep on talking, but when she didn't, he tried not to sound too impatient when he said:

"I honestly have no idea what you're trying to say. Why don't you tell me what we're really doing out here?"

"I…" Gisela gulped and took a deep breath. "I had planned to seduce you, Excellency. But I'm afraid I suck at it."

She laughed a little, as if laughing at herself made the strange statement less awkward.

Gwendal blinked, trying to think, trying to look at her but it was difficult through the near-darkness they were sitting in. Trying to _seduce_ him? He had never heard such a strange thing before and he said the only thing he could think of:

"Why?"

"Why?" She sat up straighter beside him. "Because I find you very attractive, that's why. _And_ because there's a war coming up."

"Oh, okay…" Gwendal tried to follow her train of thought. "But… how are these two statements, uh, related?"

He was quite thankful for the darkness that concealed his strange and unexpected blush. Not that he hadn't been seduced by or been seducing people before, but never in such a roundabout way. It usually involved looks, gestures, smiles… _bedrooms_… and he was usually prepared and in control, and never ever had he considered being intimate with a girl like Gisela.

He liked his lovers tall, strong and muscular and perhaps a little rough around the edges if they were men or, occasionally, slender, elegant and refined. He wanted them mature, confident, dark and ample if they were women. Gisela was none of these things. At least not yet; she might get there, with time, but for the moment, she was just a girl to him and he had never been attracted to the shy violet kind of people. Not that she was _that_ exactly, but… he didn't know what she was.

"If I put it like this", Gisela tried to explain. "We don't know how long the war is going to last when it starts, which it will… and we don't know if we're even going to live through it. We might get killed. And I… I want to have sex before I die."

"Whoa", Gwendal said.

"I mean it", Gisela said. "If I wanted to be a virgin forever I could go live at the temple. That's not what I want."

Gwendal mulled this over for a moment. He could see her point, maybe, but still…

"But why me? I mean, I'm… flattered, but… surely there must be someone else, somewhere, whom you like? I mean, someone you really like?"

"What makes you think I don't like you?"

Gisela's answer came quickly and Gwendal blushed again, regretting that he had said it. She didn't have a crush on him, did she?

"No", she added after a long, silent moment. "I do _like_ you, but it's not like I'm in love with you. That's not what I'm implying. Like I said, we don't know each other that well… But who else did you expect me to choose?"

She sounded impatient, frustrated, and she was probably a bit embarrassed, too. She pulled away from him and was no longer touching him.

"Uh", he began, "well…"

"I mean", she continued, talking faster now, "there's always a wimp like Dacascos or other guards but – no thanks, I don't think so. And sure; your brother is nice, but he's too nice… Wolfram is just a little brat. There's Lady Chérie or Anissina but I don't think women is my thing, and Lord Stoffel is… he's…"

"Too old, pretentions and full of himself", Gwendal filled in, despite himself amused by the litany.

"Exactly", Gisela agreed. "You do see my point! You're honestly the best and most handsome man around, that's why."

The thunder still roared around them and Gwendal was completely at loss for what to say. It was not the first time he had been called 'handsome' but, again, the situation was unprecedented. He didn't mind one night stands sometimes, but the way she put it, even if he realized she didn't mean it that way, made if sort of feel like a responsibility…

"No strings attached", she said. "I'm not proposing to you or anything…"

"It's not that", he said. "And don't think that I'm not honoured by your… feelings…" He gulped, searching for words. "And you're a beautiful young woman, but…"

"But you're not interested", she said. "I get it. I'm not a complete idiot, you know; I may never have tried to seduce anybody before, but I can tell that it's not working here. I should have known from the first words you said. I'm so stupid!"

Gisela hid her face in her hands and Gwendal patted her shoulder awkwardly.

"No, you're not stupid. Many men would be happy to be stuck in a dark old barn with you; I'm just not the one for you."

Gisela looked up at him again.

"Because you prefer men?"

There was something hopeful in her voice, but Gwendal didn't want to lie to her.

"Usually", he said. "I mean, sometimes." He hesitated for a moment. "To be completely honest with you, I do not find you unattractive and I suppose that I _could_ make love to you…"

"Then what's stopping you?"

"I just don't think it would be right", he tried. "Your first time shouldn't be in an old barn with a man who isn't wholeheartedly committed to you just because you're afraid of dying before you get another chance. You know; I get that… but you _will_ have plenty of time to find something better. You deserve better."

"How noble", she sniffed. "I didn't know you were such a romantic."

Gwendal sighed. How did he get into such an odd and complicated situation anyway? It was too difficult. He sort of saw where Gisela was coming from. It was normal to want sex, wasn't it? But he meant what he had said; it didn't feel quite right to do it like that. He remembered his first time; it hadn't been _romantic_ exactly… the guy had been older and experienced, and it had been hot and exciting and a bit awkward, given the fact that Gwendal hadn't been too sure about what he was doing… and he had been a lot younger than Gisela. Not much older, in fact, than Wolfram, but even at that age he had known what he wanted and already done it in his fantasy many times before that guy came along and made it happen…

The difference, he concluded, was that he and that guy had been mutually attracted to each other, they had both wanted it just as much; they had wanted _each other_, not just the experience as such…

"I'm sorry", he said, "I'm not saying this to offend you. But it's how I feel."

Gisela sighed heavily.

"Of course", she said. "I understand, and I certainly don't want to throw myself at you!"

"No, no!" he replied quickly. "I know you don't. It's alright. I do understand you, and I'm sorry…"

"Yes." Gisela sighed again. "It was my mistake. Please, try to forget about it, and…"

Her voice died away before she finished the sentence, but he guessed what she meant. Rejection is never easy to take; she was probably feeling humiliated and didn't want to ask anything of him.

"We'll both forget about it", he said, "and never mention it to anybody."

He peered in the darkness, trying to see if it was perhaps getting any lighter, if the storm was calming down, but it didn't look like it. Gwendal pushed the hay around behind him, tried to make a fluffy little nest.

"It's still raining", he said. "And you're getting cold. Please, come closer."

Gisela hesitated, but she was cold, he could hear it on her breathing. She scooted closer to him again. She tensed when he put his arm around her, but relaxed with a small sigh against his chest.

For a while, the sound of the storm and the horses' breaths was all they heard.

"You probably think that I am a very, very silly girl", she said.

"I thought we weren't going to remember it anymore", Gwendal replied.

She didn't answer, and he didn't want to ask her what she was thinking. They weren't _friends_ exactly, and he didn't know what to say to make her feel better. How old was she anyway? He guessed a bit younger than Conrad.

Gisela was, as far as he was concerned, a smart, fairly pretty and very capable young woman; why she had never had a lover before was beyond his comprehension. Maybe she had been too focused on her medical training to allow any distracting thoughts of a love life. Now with the war, she was reminded of her mortality… Yes, it made sense, he supposed.

"I was right about one thing, though", she said at last. "You _are_ a very good man."

The sincerity in her voice moved him and made him uneasy at the same time. He didn't doubt that many men would have cheered at the possibility of deflowering a young woman, but Gwendal preferred men who were governed by their brains and not by what was between their legs. And not by their emotions either. He simply wanted to do the right thing. Any man in his right mind would react the same way… right?

"I don't think that I am better than most people", he said. "But thank you. And for the record, I also think that you are a very good woman."

"Yeah… thanks. Hey… I think it has almost stopped raining."

'Let's change the topic', said the tone of her voice. And it was true that the sound of the rain was less heavy and it wasn't as dark anymore.

"I guess that means it's time to head back to the castle", he said, trying to adopt the same tone. What he really wanted was to take his horse and go in the opposite direction to think things through, but he knew that he couldn't. There was no more time, and besides, he didn't want to make her feel even more rejected by letting her go home alone.

Gwendal stood and brushed a few strands of hay off his pants.

"Come", he said and reached out his hand to pull her up.

She took it and jumped up quite gracefully. Then she took one small step closer to him.

He looked down at her and in the subdued but now slightly clearer light and he could see a mix of emotions on her face. Embarrassment, a wish to say something, sadness, hesitation… desire…

_What harm would it do to any of us_, he thought, _if she truly feels that she needs it…_

"I'd like to kiss you if I may", he mumbled.

Gisela's eyes widened in surprise, and then confusion and anger were added to the mix of emotions.

"No", she said stiffly. "No charity kisses, thank you! I don't need your pity."

Understandable, he thought. She could not say that she wanted it after everything he had said. The situation between them had not changed a lot since her initial declaration about wanting to 'seduce' him, but it had changed enough.

But she still didn't move away from him.

"It's not that", Gwendal replied. "It's not. But your lips are very beautiful and look so kissable…"

It was something he made up on the spot because he had never thought it before, but it wasn't exactly a lie either.

He raised his right hand and touched her cheek lightly with his finger, causing her to shiver with a faint blush.

_Maybe this is doing more harm than good after all_, he thought, but despite her words, Gisela tilted her head upward and closed her eyes.

So he put one arm around her, caressed her hair with his other hand, and brought his face down to hers.

It was an unusual kiss; different, he thought, because it was not motivated by his longing or desire. Not pity either, but unexpected affection for someone he barely knew. But just like any other woman's, her lips were soft and warm, and because his mind was clear and his body calm he could focus entirely on giving her some pleasure, giving her an experience.

That was, in itself, also something very enjoyable.

He could only guess what she was feeling, but he took his time to kiss her slowly and softly, hoping for the right balance between sweetness and eagerness. He didn't want to appear indifferent, at the same time as he didn't want to give her the wrong idea in the other direction.

Gisela leaned against him and he felt as though she opened herself completely to his kisses as if they were dancing some ancient ritual dance, soft and docile. She did not want to stop yet; he could feel it. She didn't shy away from his tongue and when he grabbed her a little tighter and added a little more force into it, she responded in kind.

Time to stop, maybe?

_It's strange_, he thought, _how something as simple as lips against lips can produce so strong sensations… maybe because they are so fleshy and the skin is so thin…_

Gwendal could feel something deep inside of him starting to move, and glow slowly… and he didn't want it to burst into flames, because that would go completely against everything he had been saying so far.

He broke the kiss, and Gisela sighed softly and shivered. She was looking down, breathing quickly and for a long, terrible moment, Gwendal didn't know what to say and do.

What was he afraid of? That she was going to cry? Or that she was going to throw herself back in his arms and demand more, and that he was going to have to hurt her again and even more by saying no now that he had kissed her? Or that he _wouldn't_ be able to say no if she did?

The horrible stupor released him and he pulled her closer and held her against his chest. Neither of them spoke, until she began to move and he released her immediately from the embrace.

"Thank you", he said, unsure of whether it was better to say something or keep quiet, "for the most delightful and exquisite kiss ever."

Gisela nodded quietly and began walking toward her horse, who tossed his head and whinnied when she approached him.

Gwendal followed and then she looked at him and said:

"We shall not be lovers… but colleagues and comrades."

"Yes", he agreed, thinking that she had chosen the right words, which made him like her even more.

Not _friends_ exactly, but colleagues, in that they both worked for the best of the people in their country, and comrades, because they would get along amicably.

He could only hope that that was the case, that he had said and done the right things.

They got outside and up at their horses, ready to go.

"Are you alright?" Gwendal said.

"Yes; I'm quite alright!" Gisela replied with a small smile and her horse took off.

The rain was gone and so was the heat of the air; it was clean and fresh and easy to breathe. Through a small crack in the clouds, the sun got out and the golden rays spread over the wet ground.

It was hard to imagine that in such a beautiful world, people were preparing for war, each in their own way.


End file.
